Copyright Office Shows No Love for Google Books Deal

The U.S. Copyright office expressed concern Thursday over Google's settlement with authors and publishers for digital title rights. In a hearing by the House Judiciary Committee, the federal government's copyright authority said the deal could pave the way for Google to scan books into the future in a manner that would go beyond fair use.

"We realized that the settlement was not really a settlement at all, in as much as settlements resolve acts that have happened in the past and were at issue in the underlying infringement suits," said Marybeth Peters of the Copyright Office in the hearing. Here's the text (pdf) of her remarks.

"Instead, the so-called settlement would create mechanisms by which Google could continue to scan with impunity, well into the future, and to our great surprise, create yet additional commercial products without the prior consent of rights holders."